Unknown surrounds Colonels

I want to wish everyone a prosperous new year, and I hope the hangovers were held to a minimum.Every new year brings a sense of the unknown of what lies ahead for the next 12 months.

Teddy RenoisStaff Writer

I want to wish everyone a prosperous new year, and I hope the hangovers were held to a minimum.Every new year brings a sense of the unknown of what lies ahead for the next 12 months.Unfortunately, 2012 wasn't a great year for my family. There were good times during the last 365 days, but we also had to deal with an untimely death that put a damper on the entire year.Hopefully, 2013 will be much better.Looking for a better 2013 is what Nicholls State's men's basketball team aims for as conference play begins.After finishing with a 1-9 mark in the nonconference schedule, the Colonels begin Southland Conference play against Central Arkansas on Thursday.The women's team also starts conference play against Central Arkansas on Thursday, but I want to focus on the men's team today.Even though I haven't seen the women's team play yet, what the ladies are doing is not shocking. With four starters returning and a deeper bench, the shock would've been if this team struggled during the nonconference schedule.I have seen the men's team play three times (twice against New Orleans and once against Tulane) and as I was confident about the ladies playing well before conference, I had the same confidence that the men's team would struggle.It is not that the Colonels aren't talented, in fact, this team may be the most talented squad coach J.P. Piper has ever had at Nicholls.With all-conference senior forward Fred Hunter returning from a knee injury and junior guard Dantrell Thomas getting his academics back in order, the Colonels have two players that will give SLC opponents fits over the next eight weeks.Add freshmen T.J. Carpenter and JaMarkus Houston along with sophomores Sam McBeath and Lachlan Prest to the mix and Nicholls, physically, will match up favorable with most SLC opponents.No, the issue for Nicholls during the nonconference games was experience and that lack of experience is going to be a factor during the SLC slate.With Hunter as its only senior, Nicholls will once again dress one of the youngest teams in Division I basketball. While several players gained experience last season, this team is still made up of mostly sophomores and freshmen.Inexperienced players are always a bit slow defensively, and Nicholls is no different at this point of the season.Opponents have made 50 percent of their shots and 42 percent of their 3-pointers against Nicholls thus far. Even the most experienced teams would have trouble winning games giving up those numbers.We hope to see the Colonels' maturation process continue on Thursday and carry through the remainder of the season. The Colonels will answer some questions against Central Arkansas, but I expect this season to be a work in progress for Nicholls. How much this team progresses mentally is the key to the Colonels playing into March.

Staff Writer Teddy Renois can be reached at 448-7618 or teddy.renois@dailycomet.com.